Stay on These Roads (song)
"Stay on These Roads" is a song by Norwegian band A-ha. It was their first single from the album of the same name and was released in early 1988. It achieved success in many European countries.
Release and reception
"Stay on These Roads" was released in the spring of 1988 and became the most successful single from the Stay on These Roads album, along with "The Living Daylights" on the UK charts. The song did not hit the national charts in the United States, but was a significant hit across Europe. It went to number seven in Germany, number three in France and Iceland, and number two in Ireland. In Norway, the song was the band's fourth number one single. "Stay on These Roads" was A-ha's seventh and final top five showing in the United Kingdom, reaching number five on the chart edition of March 27, 1988. It would also prove their last top ten hit in the country for almost two decades, as they did not score another UK top ten hit until eighteen years later in 2006.A Roland D-50 was used on this song—the sound patch is called "Staccato Heaven"—the wind sound during the instrumental was made on either a Roland Juno 60 or Juno 106 synthesizer.
The versions on the 7" vinyl and the 3" CD single are identical to the album version.
A-ha played the song at Oslo Spektrum on 21 August 2011, performing for a national memorial service dedicated to the victims of the 2011 Norway attacks.
Music video
The official music video was directed by Andy Morahan and was filmed in Aldeburgh, Suffolk. The band are riding on the bikes and take a break in a petrol station.The song length is four minutes and forty-six seconds.
Formats and track listing
7": Warner Bros. / W 7936 United Kingdom
- "Stay on These Roads" - 4:46
- "Soft Rains of April" - 3:18
- Track 1 is the "Album Version".
12": Warner Bros. / W 7936T United Kingdom
- "Stay on These Roads" - 6:08
- "Soft Rains of April" - 3:18
- Also released as a 12" picture disc
7": Warner Bros. / 7-27886 United States
- "Stay on These Roads" - 3:54
- "You'll End Up Crying - 3:18
- Track 1 is exclusive to this version
CD: Warner Bros. / W 7936CD United Kingdom
- "Stay on These Roads" - 4:46
- "Soft Rains of April" - 3:18
- "Take on Me" - 3:50
- "Cry Wolf" - 4:05
Album releases
| Date | Album | Track | Time |
| 1988-05-01 | Stay on These Roads | 01 of 10 | 4:45 |
| 1991-11-04 | Headlines and Deadlines - The Hits of A-ha | 14 of 16 | 4:46 |
| 2005-02-21 | ' | 09 of 19 | 4:46 |
| 2005-04-11 | The Definitive Singles Collection 1984–2004 | 09 of 18 | 4:45 |
| 2008-07-29 | A-ha Live at Vallhall – Sight & Sound series CD & DVD set. 2008 release of the 2001 concert | 10 of 19 | |
| 2009-07-19 | 25 | 12 of 20 | 4:45 |
| 2011-04-25 | ' | 06 of 16 | 4:55 |
| 2016-03-18 | 08 of 19 | 4:48 | |
| 2017-10-06 | MTV Unplugged – Summer Solstice | 08 of 11 | 6:18 |